


I have a kid

by indigomountian



Series: Stark Magic [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Abused Harry Potter, Child Abuse, Gen, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, I Made Myself Cry, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Parent Tony Stark, Tony Stark Has Daddy Issues, Which isn't hard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-24
Updated: 2018-05-24
Packaged: 2019-05-03 19:44:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14576271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/indigomountian/pseuds/indigomountian
Summary: ‘I have a kid.’‘I, Tony Stark, have a kid.’‘What the hell am I going to do with a kid?’





	1. The Letter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The year is 2006, it has been years since he last saw the beautiful Lily Evans. When Pepper comes back from London with a stack of letter from the woman Tony is filled with a lot of different feelings.

_‘I have a kid.’_

_‘I,_ **Tony Stark,** _have a kid.’_

_‘What the_ **hell** _am I going to do with a kid?’_

This was going through Tony’s head on an infinite loop as he stared at a letter which was impossible to read with how hard his hands were shaking. He had let Pepper use his pent house apartment while on business in London, it wasn’t like he was using it, and she had brought back a hand full of letters addressed to him written on parchment of all things. They even had wax seals for god’s sake. Pepper had dropped them off on her way back out to the main office, she had a meeting about the meeting in London, which was stupid but better her than him.

 In his shaking clammy hands was the first letter dated six and a half years ago. His brain was telling him a million and one things all at once. Not one of those things was that it may be a lie or a trick to get money. He could perfectly recall the woman who wrote the letters and those wonderful two weeks he had spent with her.

Lily. She had green eyes like emeralds, gorgeous dark red hair which he had confirmed to match the carpet on multiple occasions _‘just to make sure’,_ and a smirk that would take your breath away. He had spent more time with her than he had with any other woman for years, before or since… which was just a little bit sad and also beside the point. He could have seen himself falling in love with her, given time. But after their awesome two weeks he had to be back in New York and she hadn’t wanted to leave England so they had parted ways.

The letter said she was pregnant. It was more than just likely it was his. She was going to marry a guy whose description Tony remembered vividly, how he was a bully and an inconsiderate ass. It also said if Tony still wanted her he could have her. That she would leave Douchey McDoucheface, her family, her country. He just had to come get her. Send word. _Anything._

Tony felt like crying, or screaming, perhaps laughing at the cruelty of it. How he was avoiding England because it reminded him of the woman that he might have fallen for, only to find that if he had gone back she could have been his. He settled on screaming.

Once he had calmed marginally Tony went on to the next letter in the pile. This one had a picture of the beautiful woman that he never really got over holding a newborn with a tuft of his dark brown hair and a set of bright emerald eyes. This time he let the tears that had been building up fall. There was a child in the world that he had helped make. Blinking his eyes clear he gave the picture another look before reading the letter. His baby’s name is Harry.

That actually wasn’t the most interesting part of the letter. After the introduction of his child, Lily went on to say some pretty strange things. The fact that she had actually married the dick she used to date wasn’t all that strange, though she did make assurances that her promise to leave with him still stood.

No, the strange thing was when she started talking about prophesies, insane dark wizards, going into hiding, and well magic in general. Tony was worried to say the least. At the very end she told him as proof she wasn’t a total fruit cake he should tap the bottom right corner of the picture she had sent while saying “that ridiculous nickname” he had given her. She didn’t actually write the nickname though so it took him a second to figure she meant ‘Tiger Lily’, which wasn’t ridiculous at all thank you very much, but a perfectly apt description.

Feeling like an idiot, Tony held the picture in one hand and tapped the appropriate corner as requested. He wasn’t sure why he was doing it or what he expected to happen, but as he sat there staring at the picture he nearly had a heart attack when it started moving.

Lily would look down and coo at little Harry who would wriggle happily at the attention he was receiving, little grabby hands fisting in dark red hair. Lily laughed without sound and gently extracted her locks and used them to tickle Harry’s nose before the whole thing started over again. It wasn’t like any kind of technology he had ever seen before, he looked it over turning it every which way, even bending it gently but he could not for the life of him figure out how it worked. He had no clue. He was Tony Stark, genius, De Vinci of our time, a leader in all things technology, and he had no idea how this worked!

He laughed. The only thing that came to mind was magic.

_‘I’m a man of science, there has to be an explanation.’_

Multiple scans showed it to be nothing but a piece of photo paper. After testing it with every instrument he had on hand Tony decided how it worked didn’t matter as much as what was in the picture. With that thought firmly in his mind Jarvis was ordered to get the jet warmed up while Tony tried to figure out where Lily and his little Harry might be after six years. The letters stopped after Harry’s first birthday, which was fair because really after more than a year and a half without a response anyone would give up. Tony wished there were more though, that he knew more about his kid.

_‘I have a kid.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So i'm moving Harry's birth forward a few years. he was born in 2001 here.  
> The reason i'm going with for why Lily's letters didn't go directly to Tony is 'he'll see it when he uses the apartment next' and then 'magical security reasons.' There was a war on, and she was in the middle of it, don't want to drag unwilling people into it.  
> *quiet voice whisperers in the back of my head* it didn't work unless he didn't get the letters.
> 
> Not beta read, probably a bunch of mistakes. sorry.


	2. AWOL

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Tony's Texts  
>  **
> 
>  
> 
> _  
>  Pepper's Texts _

Tony had been crying a lot lately; really he was an emotional wreck.

In the same day he found out the one that got away had been out there just waiting for him, he also found out she wasn’t anymore. That she had died four years ago, maybe still hoping he would come and take her and their son away. He found out he had begat actual human child. He found that his child was living with Lily’s sister whom, if Tony remembered those two weeks from more than six years ago correctly, she was estranged from; that her sister had no fond feelings for her to speak of.

The first half hour of the plane ride was spent sobbing quietly. He hadn’t loved Lily, not really, but she had represented a life that he had desperately wanted no matter what the press may think. After his heart got used to the new cracks in it Tony focused on what Lily had left behind; Harry with his tufts of hair that reminded Tony of his own baby pictures.

A five year old didn’t really have much of a digital footprint, but Lily’s sister and her family certainly did. It wasn’t terribly hard for Jarvis to find Harry from the names Tony had to work with Harry Potter, living with Petunia Dursley ne Evans in Surrey, England. Five years and ten months old. His bambino had started school in the fall. The rest of the plane ride was spent finding everything about the Dursley’s and once he had exhausted that, he started reading parenting books.

Tony may not have planned on having a kid but he had one now and damn if he wasn’t going be a good father, unlike his own. He was half way through the second book when the plane finally touched down at Heathrow. His stomach was a ball of knots by the time he found the driver Jarvis had hired for him, and thank god for Jarvis. Tony hadn’t thought this trip through… at all.

            It was only another half an hour to Surrey and in that time Tony finished the book and still felt entirely unprepared. The car idled in front of the house that looked like every other house on this block except for the number proclaiming it to be ‘Four’ Private Drive, Tony was sure it was the only reliable way to know you were entering your own house as opposed to your neighbors. He was jittery from a twelve hour flight and fatigued from the emotional upheaval… and the fact that he hadn’t slept since before Pepper handed him a set of letters that shook his world from its axis.

            “I change my mind, find the closest hotel. I should be at my best for this,” Tony might have caved a bit under the stress, procrastinating for just that extra bit of time, but the driver was accommodating and while the hotel he pulled into wasn’t Tony’s usual it would do for the night.

            “Jarvis, order clothes to be delivered as soon as possible,” he had left without packing… or telling anyone. Pepper was going to kill him. A quick text proved his theory correct

**_Pepper, light of my life, Queen of my company…_ **

_ Tony, WHERE! ARE! YOU! You missed our lunch :(_

 Yeah, he was going to be skinned alive. The frowny face was actually meant to be a scowl that said ‘I am going to kill you, it won’t bring me any joy but I will do it and nothing you can say will stop me.’ It was a very expressive emoticon when Pepper used it.

**_It is entirely possible I am in an Econo Lodge in Surry England._ **

_Tony_ There was nothing else to the text but to be fair she got her point across just as eloquently and succinctly as ever.

 ** _I know Pep, but it’s important. Like the-most-important-thing-in-the-entire-world levels of important._** Unlike that time he got distracted by a high school science fair, or the time a car came grinding down the street and he had to stop it and tinker until it didn’t make that horrible scream because a 1968 Mustang GT500E Pro Touring should not make that noise. This was actually important.

 _What is it? Tony, are you in trouble? Do you need me to fly out there? Why didn’t you just tell me we were going to England when I was at your house?_ And that was why he loved Pepper Potts, she could definitely kill him with her six inch stilettos but she cared and she would always back him up.

 ** _No, I think I’ve got this._** He hoped he did at least. **_I’ve got a kid, Pep._**

_ WHAT? Are you sure? Did you get a paternity test already? No, that takes days. Tony, are you sure? _

**_I’m sure._** At least he told her eventually, it would be worse if she found out on her own that Tony had fucked off to another country without so much as a note to say he wasn’t being tortured in a dark hole somewhere for corporate secrets. It would be almost insurmountably terrible if she found out from the news networks.

_ Should I start typing up a press release? _

**_Not yet. In fact maybe not at all._** Did he even want everyone to know about his kid? Harry would get no rest from the vultures once they had caught wind of him. As someone who lived his childhood in the limelight, it sucked.

 _Keep me updated. Or at least let me know if you leave the country._ Honestly he deserved that. Now that he wasn’t absorbed in not being murdered by one of his best friends he took in his lodgings for the night.

            The entire suite was underwhelming compared to the places Pepper usually booked him in, but then Pepper hadn’t known to make him any reservations so it was really his own fault. He decided to worry about anything else _after_ he passed out on what looked like a scratchy comforter and sheets with a thread count lower than Justin Hammer’s IQ.

The thought of raiding the minibar until he didn’t care how horrible the sheets were crossed his mind, but then he thought of Howard and his drinking. He wanted to be _nothing_ like his father and if he had to give up drinking and partying then it wasn’t much of a choice really. Tony instead turned his thoughts to the little boy he was here to see. Would Harry even want to see him? He had been missing from his son’s live for the first five years and change. He had to at least give Harry the option, making decisions for him was one of Howard’s favorite things and Tony wasn’t going to do that to his own son when he had hated it so much.

            The night was spent with an uncomfortable bed and restless dreams that smelled of stale whisky breath and bitterness.


	3. Meeting the Progeny

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Harry met Tony.

By the time he had woken up there was a package of clothes being held by the front desk for him, Tony took a shower and got dressed as slowly as possible, the suit Jarvis got him was high end and as fitted as one could get on such short notice without being physically present when it was made. He ate a full breakfast and even had the driver of the day take him to a toy store where he stared at a wide variety of stuffed animals for so long he finally admitted he was stalling.

Tony resisted his first instinct to buy the largest stuffed animal they had, it was a life sized tiger and sure any kid would love it but carrying it around would quickly make Tony regret buying it. He instead went with the one that caught his eye next, a foot tall furry dragon with iridescent wings which made him smile after all the talk of magic in Lily’s letters, though he was still very skeptical; even with a Polaroid .gif that he couldn’t figure out.

Feeling, if not more confidant, then at least a little bit better now that he had something physical to present Harry with, he had nothing else to stall him from going to meet his son. He was equal parts nervous and excited, on the one hand Harry had no reason to accept him, and on the other hand **HE HAS A KID!** Would he have Lily’s smile? His own genius intellect? His grandmothers laugh? Tony wanted to know everything about the tiny human that was his progeny.

It was a Saturday morning so Tony was hoping the Dursley family was home… maybe he should have called ahead. A thousand doubts started to flit through his brain and he realized they were once again idling in front of a cookie cutter in Surrey with only the number four telling it apart from the rest. Even the flowers in the tiny gardens were all the same. Why would people want this?

He thought he might throw up but instead he took a breath and got out of the car. He could see curious neighbors gaping discreetly, looking through curtains and over fences. Not that they were at all discreet. He walked up to the door and rang the bell, internally panicking when he realized he had no idea what he was going to do when the door opened. Here he was standing unannounced at a stranger door holding a stuffed animal. The tabloids were going to go crazy when they caught wind of this, and he had no doubt they _would_ find out with all of the very subtle people _definitely_ not watching him intently.

He could see the headline now, **_Tony Stark’s secret love child!_** and for once they wouldn’t be brazen lies. Pepper was going to put him to death, he just knew it. It’s not like he was going to deny it either, he had a kid and he wasn’t ashamed about that. He was a little heartbroken that he had already missed almost six years but he was here to fix that.

“Yes, how may I help you?” a voice cut through his thoughts, he recognized Petunia Dursley from the pictures he and Jarvis had found. She was in fact nothing like her sister who had been beauty, grace, and wit personified. Instead she seemed to be plain and of a rather sour disposition if her pinched mouth was anything to go by. The word shrewish came to mind but perhaps his impression was colored by Lily’s opinions, not that Lily hated her sister but the reverse could be said. And anyone who could have hated Lily Evans was someone to write off for poor taste alone.  

“Hi, Tony Stark. May I come in? Great!” it was perhaps not his best, but it worked. He shouldered his way into the tiny boring house, Tony couldn’t imagine how torturous this house must be if his son had a mind like his.

Petunia Dursley blinked once before her eyes widened as she put his name and face together and came up with the billionaire business mogul. Seeming to be tongue tied, she simply nodded as if Tony wasn’t already inside. She at least closed the door behind them, stopping any more nosy neighbors from gawking and snapping pictures that would be on the internet in two minutes.

“What is it we can do for you Mr. Stark?” which was a fair question as Little Whinging surly didn’t get many people like him knocking at their door.

“Well, I’ve recently received some letters that were left at my apartment in London. I haven’t been there for quite a few years so I’m much later responding to them than I would like,” the loss of what might have been made his heart squeeze but Tony Stark was nothing if not a futurist, “I’m here to see Harry.”

The rapid change in Petunia Dursley’s coloring was worrisome; she looked as if she may pass out, “What ever for?”

“He is my son,” That was the first time Tony had said it out loud, he had been thinking it over and over, like a mantra, and he had told Pepper via text but this was the first time he had verbalized it. It felt more real. He had a son and he was going to be a good father if it killed him, “So, where is he?”

There was a bump and a shuffle, a very small boy in ragged rather dingy clothes stepped out of the kitchen. Someone had been eavesdropping. The front of the too big shirt was wet and a shoulder peeked out from a yawning stretched out neck line. Tiny hands wrung the hem of the shirt nervously as big green eyes looked at him with unbridled hope.

The woman next to Tony was ridged as a statue and pale as a ghost, she should be, standing there in a string of pearls wearing a moderately priced dress while he stared at a waif of a child.  He tried to keep any flicker of anger and suspicion that was growing within him off his face, it would probably scare them both. Tony was thinking he certainly wanted Mrs. Dursley to be scare. But this tiny boy, definitely not.

“Hi there, are you Harry?” Tony tried for a smile and really hoped it looked as reassuring as he was going for.

“Are you really my father? Aunty said my parents died in a car crash. Are you a ghost?” he was so, so small and his voice was barely more than a whisper when he spoke. This was definitely Lily’s child though; he would know those jewel green eyes anywhere. This was _his_ child. And he was so small. Far too small for five, wasn’t he?

“No, I’m not a ghost. I didn’t know about you, but the moment I found out I came to meet you. I even brought you a present,” he held out the fuzzy green stuffed dragon but Harry stayed at the other end of the hall just looking at him. He didn’t necessarily look scared, just wary, so Tony decided to shuffle closer, “If you don’t like it I could get you something else.”

All of the sudden Harry started sobbing, big fat crocodile tears and lip wobbles and everything, Tony’s heart gave a painful squeeze. It’s been doing that a lot lately. Harry launched himself the remaining distance between them and latched onto Tony’s leg.

Before Tony really had time to process that though Harry froze against him, like the kid stopped breathing and everything. He decided to try rubbing circles on Harry’s back like his mother did when he was upset. Was this the normal reaction to finding out one of your parents were alive? Maybe. What did he know? The tiny body against him loosened up again and started quiet little sobs. He decided he had the right idea and kept at his little circles adding in some hopefully calming noises a little swaying.

The sobbing died down after a bit but he still had a limpet on his leg, which was fine. He would happily carry this limpet for the rest of forever. Reaching down Tony gathered his little boy in his arms, Harry tensed up again as he got a hand hooked under each armpit, but seemed ok with being held, on the whole. He didn’t object at least. The weight against his hip was far more comfortable than Tony ever thought it would be. That small tear stained face stared up at him with such hope, damn it all but he had Tony wrapped around his fingers already.

“Did you come to take me away from here? Will I get to live with you now,” those words sent a current of fear through him; they didn’t sound like the words of a happy child that loved his aunt and uncle. Paired with the ragged clothes and insubstantial weight, it started to paint a picture that Tony was _very_ unhappy with.

“If that’s what you want. But won’t you miss you aunt and uncle?” as the words came out Tony panicked inside. He had come here thinking he would visit, get to know Harry, maybe after they were comfortable he would have weekends or something. Could he look after a child full time? He didn’t know anything about children except what the books he had read on the plane said. But his panic, his doubts, his inexperience, none of that mattered when he thought that his son might not be happy and healthy here. He would just have to suck it up and deal, he would figure it out as he went. He was a genius. He could work out anything given the proper motivation. And he didn’t think he had ever had a better motivation than this tiny boy.

“I don’t,” here Harry paused and visibly rethought what he was going to say, “I shouldn’t be ungrateful.”

The fact that a five year old knew that phrase spoke of how often he had heard it. Tony spared a moment to glare over at Dursley who hadn’t moved and now looked rightfully fearful at the scene in front of her.

“If you want to come live with me, then you will. I just wanted to know if we would be visiting. I’m thinking not,” Tony was angry, furious really, but he tried to keep up his usual mildly flippant tone. He was thinking he had mixed results because Dursley seemed to have the fear of god in her… or at least the fear of Stark. And she was smart enough to keep her mouth shut, or she was too scared to talk. Either worked.

 It hadn’t been outright said yet but he knew that Harry had at least been treated unkindly by the reactions, it was really just a question of whether he should involve the authorities or ruin the Dursley’s himself. They were going to regret not treating his son well, “Why don’t you go pack anything you want to take with you while I have a chat with your aunt.”

He put Harry down but the boy seemed reluctant to let Tony out of his sight, he did reach down and gather up the dragon that had been forgotten in all the tears, “I’ll still be here. I promise.”

Harry gave a very serious nod to acknowledge the promise but instead of going up the stairs like Tony assumed he would, the little boy started with the closet under the stairs. Dursley made a noise like a wounded animal when Harry went for the door, his little munchkin stopped to look at her for a long moment, studying her, before opening it anyway.

Inside, it was not shoes and coats like Tony was expecting, but a small pallet on the floor with a blanket over it. That was all Tony could see without getting in the closet but that was all Tony really _needed_ to see. He took in the multiple locks with a new light, imagining his too small son being shoved in that too small room and being unable to get out.

Tony had his face back in a smile for Harry before he turned around with a frayed blanket and a musty pillow. Tony wanted to scream again. He had been doing a lot of that too. With a long breath he pushed his anger back until he had time to deal with the Dursleys. There was no reason he couldn’t call the authorities _and_ ruin the Dursleys himself.

“Hey Harry, how about you leave those here and I get you a new blanket and pillow? You can even pick them out yourself. How’s that sound?” it was a struggle to keep his voice even, but he was very sure at this point Harry would assume any anger he heard in Tony’s voice would be directed at him.

“But- but you already got me a present. And it’s so nice. I wouldn’t want to be ungrateful,” Harry clutched at the dragon as he spoke and smothered it to his chest as best he could with his hands full of dingy blanket and pillow. This ‘ungrateful’ thing was going to be a terror to undo along with all the other pitfalls left by these horrible people. His poor baby was going to need therapy.

“You’re right, I did get you a present, but a blanket isn’t a present. That’s something you _need_ , and as you dad it’s my job to make sure you have it. I’m going to make sure you have everything you need from now on Harry. So why don’t you put that down, we’ll go get you a nicer one. Okay?”

“Only if you’re sure. I don’t want to be a burden,” and with every word Harry spoke the Dursley’s hole was dug deeper.

“I’m very sure. You will never be a burden to me, Harry,” Tony gently took the pillow then the blanket from Harry before picking him up again and settling him on a hip, dragon squished between them, “How’s about we blow this popsicle stand?”

He was going to get Harry something to eat, then something to wear. After that he was going to call Pepper and have her figure out how one goes about gaining custody of a child. It shouldn’t be too hard all things considered. He was also going to have someone arrest Petunia and Vernon Dursley. Preferably as publically as possible, they seemed like the kind of people to care about what rumors the neighbors hiss over the fence. Then he was going to have them thrown in the deepest darkest hole England could manage.

The town car parked in front of the house didn’t have a car seat in it; he really hadn’t planned on going anywhere with Harry on their very first meeting. He wasn’t going to endanger his baby though, so he walked over to the sedan in the driveway. It was unlocked. There was a single car seat for a child much larger than his little bambino. It would have to do. All the neighbors watched as Tony Stark blatantly stole the car seat out of the back of a middle class family’s car and put it in his town car. The press were going to have going to go into a feeding frenzy like a shiver of sharks over this whole thing, the car seat was just more blood in the water.

With Harry as safely as secured as he could be for the moment in a too big car seat, Tony had their driver set a course for a diner in the area. No matter what else needed to happen, food was the number one priority. Tony tapped away at his phone to Jarvis, he needed a doctor specializing in pediatrics, a raid on the Dursley residence, and a new room put onto his house.

Harry spent the short drive alternating between watching Tony and staring at the stuffed animal in disbelief. It was honestly tear-jerking, it also made Tony feel way better about dropping literally everything and rushing here as fast as humanly possible. It was obviously called for. He snapped a picture and sent it to Pepper with the caption **_Get the SI Law team on the phone, they’ve got work to do._** She tried to call him immediately but he silenced his phone and gave his little boy his full attention.

“So, Harry. We’re going to lunch, then to get you something to wear. Does that sound ok?” The nod he got was hesitant but he’d take it.


	4. The obligatory shopping trip

They wound up at a little family owned fish and chip place that was so British it would be comical any other day. Today he didn’t care. A sign said seat yourself so Tony picked a corner out of the way, it wasn’t very busy even though it was Saturday but the less attention drawn to them the better.

The waitress was very pleasant in her greeting but after she got a good look at Harry she cooled down considerably. Not that Tony could blame her, his son was tiny and dirty in too big clothes next to someone dressed very well. He had the exact same reaction. He was wishing he could have gotten clothes first but he couldn’t justify waiting a single moment more to feed this tiny boy. The driver was off buying a better car seat; the one he stole from the Dursleys was probably in a dumpster already.

“I’ll have a burger, everything on it, and a coke. Harry, do you like chicken fingers?” For once he was really hoping to be recognized; then this waitress would realize he was not in fact the reason his baby looked like this and would hopefully not call the police. Harry shrugged noncommittally, obviously not really comfortable but time and patience would hopefully help with that. “Well go with that for now, and a lemonade maybe?”

Sherry, the waitress, looked him over before writing down their order and walking away. She didn’t look like she had made her mind up about the authorities yet, but she was at least going to bring food.

Tony tried to make inconsequential conversation with Harry but he seemed in no mood to talk, sticking with staring for a while and looking away while petting the dragon, before looking back. That was fine though, he could take his time. Tony had more than enough words for any given day, and it was really just a matter of making sure the words that spilled forth were age appropriate.  By the time Sherry came back with their drinks Tony was telling the story about the first fire in his lab after Dum-E came online and how the bot came to love fire extinguishers. Harry forgot he was supposed to be shy.

Tony got through two more stories about the bots before their food came and Harry was smiling and had finished most of his drink. Sherry brought him another without being asked and Harry stopped moving entirely. He was gauging Tony’s reaction. Tony hated that his child felt the need to watch himself around him but they had only met maybe an hour and a half ago. Trust would come with time, and Tony was going to give his bambino every reason to trust him.

The chicken fingers were a great success, although Harry didn’t seem to enthused with the honey mustard… even if he did keep dipping his chicken in it. He made a face at it every time.

“You know, Harry, you don’t have to eat that if you don’t like i-” Tony almost had a panic attack because those little eyes went wide with alarm and Harry tried to shove the whole thing in his mouth. He was going to choke. Oh god, Tony totally should have taken that emergency response course with Rhodey. He didn’t know the Heimlich! What if Harry asphyxiated!

“Hey! Don’t do that! Spit it out,” and ok, that was harsher than he had meant it, but he was so worried. Harry had tears in his eyes even if they hadn’t fallen. He opened his mouth and let the chicken drop back onto the plate, looking at it forlornly. “Hey, I’m sorry I raised my voice. Harry, would you look at me please?”

He was crying now, there was no sound but tears rolled down his face like the river. "I'm sorry, I like it. Please don't take it away."

“Harry, I’m not going to take your food away. I promise. I only meant that it looked like you weren’t enjoying the dipping sauce. If you don’t like it you don’t have to dip your chicken in it. You can eat it plain or there’s ketchup right here. Ok?” Tony waited for him to nod, and it looked like the waterworks were over, thank god, “Any time you’re hungry, you just have to tell me and I will make sure you have something to eat, but please never shove food in your mouth like that again. You scared me.” 

The kid had probably already shaved a few years off his life and it’s only been a few hours. He would be dead in a week at this rate.

Harry hesitantly went back to his chicken, stealing glances every three seconds. Yeah, that made Tony feel like shit. He was already fucking this up, but that just meant there was room for improvement. Or at the very worst Pepper would make it better; she always did. He just had to watch how loud and anxiously he spoke, it would be fine. He could do that.

They had no further incidents while they finished their food… well Tony finished his food, Harry still had two chicken fingers left and most of his fries. But Tony doubted he had the room in his stomach to fit any more even if he did want to judging by the miserable look he was giving them. By the time they were done eating Sherry had apparently decided not to call the authorities, because he paid without a fuss.

 Harry was clutching his doggy bag in disbelief, normally Tony wouldn’t have brought the leftovers with them because they weren’t going straight back to wherever they was staying but Harry seemed happy enough to keep a tight grip on his food. The driver, Mark he thought, was waiting for them car seat and all.

The kids clothing store they ended up at was definitely not a place he would usually buy things from, not that Tony did a lot of his own shopping. But when he did it was almost always designer brands or so soft it didn’t matter who made it. This was just cheaply made commercially produced shit. He did like the shirt with a little fuzzy bunny face though. He was going to buy that; he just needed to find the right size. What size was Harry? What did these sizes even mean?

He was floundering again, and panicking just a little. This time though it was for a completely not legitimate reason, unlike all the other times he had panicked in the last two days. It made him feel like an idiot when he was ridiculously relieved to be approached by a blue haired teenager being paid minimum wage to assist him.

They figured out Harry’s approximate size together and after that it wasn’t too hard. Harry had very little opinion to give on the matter so Tony picked everything, even if he asked if Harry liked everything he put in the cart. He said yes to absolutly everything so they ended up with some odd picks but that was fine. They also had a dinosaur sweatshirt, as in the hood was the dinosaurs head and it had little triangle spines down the back, so there was that. Tony tried not to go overboard, thinking that Harry didn’t need a whole wardrobe tonight; just enough to last till they could go back to Malibu, but it was hard to keep himself contained.

Tony wasn’t one to forget about a promise so they found the large bedding section. There were a lot blankets, so many in fact that Harry seemed positively overwhelmed. Instead of letting it become too much for him, Tony picked out three of the softest looking ones and held them out.

“Which one, kiddo?” Harry still looked unsure but not as bad. See, he could do this parenting thing. Harry reached for the red one with sparkly yellow stars. It was fleecy and big enough to wrap him up twice. “Excellent choice, good sir.”

Harry laughed at his dreadful English accent, which, rude. The smile was wonderful though. The pillow was an easier choice though because there was one that matched the blanket, Harry pointed it out so Tony snagged three.

Harry looked behind him into the now full cart and then back at Tony, “Are you getting all that?”

“I am. You need clothes, and I promised you a new blanket and pillow. I think we have enough for now though, don’t you?” he got a vigorous nod with dark hair flopping up and down. He would have to find somewhere for a haircut soon or the munchkin wouldn’t be able to see at all.

It was a relief that their purchases fit into the trunk of the town car, Tony was willing to admit he hadn’t been buying with that in mind, but it all worked out.

Tony gave their driver the address for his London apartment; it was only twenty minutes away and far _far_ better than the roach infested place he stayed last night. Not that he had actually seen a roach, he would have been out of there faster than a tachyon.

Harry was asleep by the time they got there so Tony carefully unstrapped him and tried to lift him without jostling him to bad. It was all for naught though, as soon as he tried to pick him up Harry's eyes opened.

“It’s alright, just time for bed. I’ll carry you up and tuck you in,” he didn’t go back to sleep but he did lay his head on Tony’s shoulder. Mark was kind enough to carry their bags for him; Tony made a mental note to make sure the man got the best tip of his life.

Once Harry was settled in the guest bedroom with his pillows and blanket Tony realized just how tired he was, even if it was only about four in the afternoon local time and he couldn’t go to sleep just yet. He had things to arrange first.


	5. Hug it out

Apparently when you are a billionaire public figure and the father of the child living in a bad situation you can have custody of your child in a matter of hours. Pepper was a saint through the whole thing, dealing with everything but the paperwork that needed his direct signature so he could focus all of his attention on Harry.

He spent the time waiting to go back to the states learning everything he could about Harry. Like his favorite color, favorite food and things like that. Most things they had to discover together because Harry had been deprived of a lot in that god forsaken house.

The only good thing about having to wait for the paperwork to go through was that when they did get home, the house would be child proofed and Harry’s room would be ready. Pepper had been given specific instructions to get rid of every bottle in the place while childproofing… whatever else that may entail. She had sounded very happy at that pronouncement. Even if he was doing it for Harry first and foremost and himself second it felt good to have Pepper’s seal of approval.

It would only take three weeks to get everything in order, things like Harry’s citizenship and the Dursley’s arrest. Tony was sure his name and money had sped everything up tenfold, then Pepper’s efficiency had sped it up another tenfold.

Tony had already had Harry examined by a pediatrician; everything she found had been nail after nail in the Dursley’s coffins. Harry had a diet to adhere to, to help him gain some weight, along with vitamins and supplements to help him along. Tony had also been in contact with a Dr. Lara Michaels, a well respected child psychologist back in Malibu, for advice as well as an appointment for when they were state side; Harry would get all the help he needed. They weren’t sure if Harry would need regular appointments or not but after the Doc talked with him they would go from there.

The Doc had said to be open, and to let Harry know how wrong the Dursley’s were in how they treated him. Tony had gotten a confirmation from Jarvis that the Dursleys were in police custody, so he figured this was a great time to bring it up, now that there was presentable proof that they were in the wrong.

It had only been two days since Tony had met his little Topolino but they were already much more comfortable around each other, even if Harry was still quiet as a church mouse. The psychologist told him this was normal, and to expect him to act out more as he became more comfortable. It was to test boundaries, something Tony himself still did all the time.

“Hey kiddo, wanna come sit with me for a minute?”  Over the last two days Harry had become a lot less hesitant… comparatively. He was still watching every move and reaction but he was also sitting on the furniture in the apartment, it might not be home but he was getting more comfortable around Tony, “I wanted to tell you something. It’s pretty important.”

Harry crawled up on the couch with Mr. Dragon, the very aptly named stuffed dragon, and sure it was a bit on the nose but Tony was horrible at naming things too; Dum-E, You, and Butterfingers come to mind. It was a good thing that he hadn't been in charge of naming Harry.

Harry didn’t say anything but Tony had his undivided attention, he always did. It was probably something else to do with his prior treatment; Harry always gave his full attention to the person talking to him.  

“I want you to know that this is a good thing, that you’re not in trouble at all,” The psychologist said it was very important to stress that point; that Harry wasn’t going to be punished and wasn’t at fault. Harry looked a little more wary than usual but he nodded, “Your aunt and uncle were arrested today. They are going to jail.”

“Why?” Harry whispered, wide eyed and Tony couldn’t tell if he was happy to hear the news or not.

“They were very bad, Harry. They hurt you and that is something people get punished for. The Dursleys should not have treated you like that, that’s not how children are supposed to be treated. Do you understand?” Tony looked at those big watery green eyes and felt about to cry himself. He was going to spoil his bambino rotten and hope it was good enough to make up for this atrocious start at life.

His sniffling limpet crawled over and clung to his shirt so Tony lifted him up and sat him properly in his lap. It was for the best because he wasn’t doing much better himself and kind of needed something to hold on to, “It’s ok, Harry. Let it all out. That’s right.”

They spent a long time just sitting there with Tony quietly rubbing a hand up and down his baby’s back moving with the little shudders as he sobbed the hurt out. Tony wasn’t even paying attention to the murmured assurances he was giving, instead he was thinking about how he wanted to have this always, his sweet boy taking comfort and care where he needed it.

In that moment Tony thought that everything might get better, they had each other and everything else they could work out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know nothing about the adoption process or child psychology. Just go with it... or don't. Which ever you like.  
> There might be more. There might not. I just really wanted to get the idea out of my head and figured if it was already written I might as well post it. I might write a different one where Lily just ran away and into Tony arms, pregnant with his child and hoping for the best.  
> Another option is the sequel to this with the Iron man years and the avengers.  
> Magic would play a bigger roll in either of those.


End file.
